The Internet has made booking travel accommodations and travel planning significantly easier. Travel planning websites, such as Travelocity.com, have enabled travelers to research, plan, and complete the booking of travel arrangements without the assistance of a travel agent. Among other things, such websites are used to book travel accommodations, such as airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other activities, which are sometimes referred to herein as “travel components.” Booking individual travel components enable a traveler to secure exactly the accommodations that fit the traveler's needs.
Recently, handheld internet-capable devices have become more prevalent. While travelers have been able to access online travel agencies with their laptop computers, people can now access their travel itineraries and receive e-mails with travel information using their handheld devices. Some travel agencies also provide information to customers in a format that is viewable on a mobile device that may lack a full web browser application. For example, a trip itinerary can be e-mailed to a customer in a format viewable by most scaled-down mobile browsers.
However, due to the vast amount of innovation that has gone into improving mobile devices, specially formatted e-mails are becoming less necessary. Many mobile devices now include web browsers that can display most, if not all, information provided in common website formats. Travelers can now use their mobile devices to sign into their online travel agency accounts and view information about their trip, including travel itineraries, confirmation numbers, and departure times.
In addition to accessing online content using a web browser, various types of mobile devices, including laptop computers, handheld devices and tablets, can run pieces of code, sometimes referred to as applications. Applications can be downloaded from an online store or other remote location and/or come pre-loaded on the mobile device. While some concepts related to applications, their various formats, means for installing, and means for running may be well known, each application has the potential to provide configuration data that cause the mobile device to provide novel functionality and features as well as solve problems faced by millions of people everyday.